COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes staged a come-from-behind effort to claim their first win of the Big Ten season, defeating the Northwestern Wildcats, 66-61, Sunday afternoon in Evanston.

The win marks the Buckeyes’ first in Welsh-Ryan Arena in more than eight seasons and the first game played since a season-ending injury to leading scorer and rebounder center LaToya Turner (So., Pickerington, Ohio). Ohio State improves to 11-3 overall and 1-3 in the league. Northwestern drops to 4-9, 0-3.

Forward Courtney Coleman (So., Cincinnati, Ohio) posted 15 points in the second half, to finish with a game- and career-high 19 points. D’wan Shackleford (So., Newark, Ohio) posted her first career double-double with 15 points and a game- and career-high 17 rebounds. Jamie Lewis (Sr., Oak Hill, Ohio) also finished in double-figures with 12 points. Dana Leonard led three other Wildcats in double-figure scoring with 19 points.

Ohio State trailed by as many as nine points in the early minutes of the first half but with a 12-4 rally closed the lead to 15-14 with 9:07 still to play. Northwestern held a four-point advantage, 32-28, with 1:41 remaining and was sparked by Leonard, scoring five points in a 6-0 run, who helped stretch the Wildcats’ lead to 38-28 by intermission.

Northwestern went up by 12 (42-30) when Coleman took over matters in the paint, scoring 13 points in a 24-12 rally that gave the Buckeyes’ their first lead of the game, 52-50, with 8:57 left. DiDi Reynolds (So., Portage, Ohio) helped extend the lead to as many as six (60-54) with a three-pointer and 3:38 on the clock. Shackleford kept the Buckeyes in front, threading 4-of-4 free throws in a 6-of-8 team performance at the stripe in the closing minutes.

Ohio State returns to action Thursday, hosting Illinois at 7 p.m. in Value City Arena.